"David."
The boy gazed steadily out the window, not hearing the teacher's voice calling to him.
"David," she said again, "please pay attention."
David's eyes snapped back to his teacher. Since his mother had died two years ago things had been very bleak for the boy. The teacher remembered a few weeks earlier, the memory of a small ten year old boy, wandering around aimlessly. His father had lost interest, and so the boy had to cope alone. The teachers were getting afraid for David, not because of misbehavior, but because of the gloom that obviously surrounded him whenever he was around.
The staff had even spoken with the Social Services, who had looked at the possibility he was being mistreated, but they had found his father, though never showing any love or affection for his son, kept him clothed and fed, and he was as clean as any other young boy.
He had been thinking, which was not unusual for him, he had found some comfort in his adventures the previous summer, and for the coming week... Christmas!
During the summer holidays he as usual, was left to his own devices. Since his mother had died, it was as if all his dad did was work, doing what had to be done for work and around the house, giving him money to go places, but never coming with him, rarely talking to him, or even touching him. In the summer he took the bus down to the beach, spent the day walking on the sands, and then went home for supper and bed. He never seemed to make friends, and would go far down the sands away from anyone else.
Half way through the holidays, he had gone to his usual place, only to find someone already there, sunbathing. David was slightly put out by this intrusion into what he considered his private domain, and started to play, building a castle in the wet sand. He got the feeling he was being watched, and looked round at the girl. At first he wasn't sure, as she was wearing dark glasses, she was looking deliberately now. It was while he was bending over, that he saw her sit up and stare straight at him
He turned to face her and sat down. The two sat studying each other. David saw a girl about eleven with long brown hair and petite. She was looking at him; his skin tanned all over, straight brown hair, a dark look on his face. There was sadness in those brown eyes. He was wearing shorts that just covered the top of his legs.
Eventually David got up and sat beside her. He was looking at a work of art, appreciating her appearance.
"Do you like looking at me?"
"Yes, why?" her voice was nice and a warm and really touched him.
David found himself thinking about what it would be like to be close to someone again. He moved closer, trying to make it obvious.
She picked up a bottle of suntan lotion, and asked "Want some of this on?"
David nodded, and stretched out by her towel, the lotion cooling his skin. Her hands worked the liquid into his body. He closed his eyes, seeing the sun piercing his eyelids. David could feel the sadness in his stomach, he thought that when he left that would probably be the last time he saw her.
The next two weeks were hectic; if his father had noticed David he would have seen a change in him. Even adults that knew him said that young man seemed to be coming out of himself.
He knew he liked her, he was having fun, someone was showing that he existed. By the end of the first week the two were spending most of each day on the beach. David had discovered many of the differences between girls and boys. David knew about having a girlfriend, but never had.
On the Saturday is father decided to take him to the shops, and by the time they got back, it was too late to go down to the beach. He went down on the Sunday, but she wasn't there. He wandered up and down the shore, nothing. The beach lost its attraction, but David had changed, he now wasn't the lost child he was before. He had dreamed that his father would play with him like fathers do. He loved his father, but that wasn't going to happen, so he returned to school with a different attitude.
It was only a few weeks ago that he remembered the only person who knew that he was there, since his mother had died. On Christmas Eve as he slept, a large figure dressed in red would come and leave a large sack of goodies. He would then sit by David, hug him to his chest, and David would weep quietly. Santa loved him, and though only ten David was not quite sure if he believed in Santa, loved him back.
The teachers at the school were beginning to notice a change in David. He still didn't pay much attention in class, now, occasionally, you would see a smile replace the usually lost expression. They weren't too sure if it was a good sign, when they spoke to him, the smile would disappear like a ghost.
Finally, Christmas Eve had arrived. David could hardly keep a tremor of excitement from his voice as he said good night to his father. A slight grunt was the only sign that his father had heard him, but even that slight acknowledgement was more than he had got in the past few months, and that lifted his spirits for the rest of the night. He snuggled under the duvet, put his pyjamas on, and then lay his head on his pillow.
He had dozed off when the door to his room opened, and he didn't wake till the large figure sat beside him hugged him in his arms. He felt the warm, red fabric, the roughness of the white whiskers of Santa's beard. As he was gently rocked backwards and forwards, he slowly drifted off to sleep saying, "I love you, Santa.
He never saw the girl again, but seeing her was enough to give him the confidence be with his peers again.
The teachers couldn't understand the change in him. He had turned from a depressed cloud of misery into a cheerful and bright member of the class. They were finding that though he had always appeared to be in the clouds, he must have been listening and storing everything away for later. The David they knew had comeback, he was bubbling and intelligent. They were mystified, but whatever had brought about this change, it was welcome.
The End